FirstEnergy Corporation (FE) Earnings & Analysis

Latest quarter

FirstEnergy reported third-quarter revenue of $4.6 billion, above the $4.3 billion consensus and up from $4.1 billion a year earlier. Its adjusted earnings of $0.98 per share also exceeded the $0.90 consensus. CFO Jon Taylor said GAAP earnings were $0.96 per share, compared with $0.76 a year earlier.

The filing attributed higher earnings in part to transmission revenue from regulated investments that increased rate base. It said Distribution earnings increased with higher customer demand and rider revenues, among other factors, while Integrated earnings benefited from transmission investment and customer usage. Stand-Alone Transmission earnings fell, partly because a prior-year tax benefit did not recur.

FirstEnergy’s operating margin rose to 20.5% from 20.0%, while gross margin was 63.6%, compared with 63.7% a year earlier. Free cash flow was −$666.0 million, compared with −$461.0 million in the prior-year quarter. Taylor said the company deployed $4.9 billion in electric-system investments through September.

Adjusted EPS is the figure the consensus estimates, not the GAAP EPS above.

What management said on the call

CEO Brian Tierney said FirstEnergy had 7.9 GW of contracted data center demand across its footprint and was negotiating approximately 4 GW of additional load. CFO Jon Taylor said weather-adjusted load rose 1.2% in the third quarter, led by a 3.3% increase in industrial demand.

Tierney said West Virginia pipeline demand had risen to nearly 6 GW. To serve large customers, he said FirstEnergy had requested proposals for an initial 3 GW of additional combined-cycle turbines and expected an update in early 2027. He said the company expected a fourth-quarter regulatory order on its proposed Maidsville facility and had reserved turbines for delivery in 2030.

Asked about the project’s remaining steps, Tierney said FirstEnergy needed to finalize gas supply and its engineering, procurement and construction arrangement. Taylor said discussions with Maidsville customers included openness to funding some investment through a surcharge. Tierney said FirstEnergy was also considering batteries, fuel cells and reciprocating engines as temporary power options before longer-term grid service is available.

For transmission, Tierney said FirstEnergy expected at least a 25% increase from its current $19 billion investment plan when it releases its updated five-year plan. Asked how contracted demand would affect spending, Taylor estimated about $250 million of network upgrades for each gigawatt of contracted demand, but said most of the planned increase would address reliability and resilience on the existing system. He said uncontracted demand is excluded from the plan.

Taylor said FirstEnergy had requested a $253 million distribution revenue increase in New Jersey and proposed delaying the impact on residential customers until 2028. He said the company expected a Maryland rate-case outcome in April and would provide its 2027 through 2031 capital and financial outlook on its fourth-quarter earnings call in February.

Guidance

FirstEnergy reaffirmed its 2026 core earnings per share guidance. Brian Tierney also said the company remained on track for its existing core earnings growth range through 2030.